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Improved Cutting of One-Micron Plastic Sections using Qwick Glass Knives
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | McMahon, James T. Alsouss, Joel |
| Copyright Year | 2006 |
| Abstract | James T. McMahon and Joel Alsouss Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio mcmahojt@ccf.org One-micron plastic "thick" sections, usually stained with toluidine blue, are indispensable light microscopic adjuvants for the selection and evaluation of tissue blocks prior to electron microscopy. Plastic thick sections may also be the only practical alternative to routine histologic sections when tissue specimens are limited or too small for processing in paraffin. In all cases, however, plastic sections provide superior light microscopic resolution compared to paraffin sections, but lack the compatibility with the wide variety of special stains that make paraffin sections so versatile. Plastic Sections and Glass Knives The cutting of plastic sections has evolved over the years since Latta and Hartmann introduced knives made from plate glass in 1950 to the present use of knives made from commercially available glass strips and most recently the use of diamond-edged "histo knives." Whether hand-made or commercially obtained, these knives are similar in design: a sharp cutting edge with a trough or reservoir for the collection of sections on a liquid surface. For those who prefer to make their own glass knives, the process of making troughs may be tedious and time consuming. Up to now there have been two generally accepted ways to make knives with troughs. Commercially available pre-made troughs, either metal or plastic, may be affixed to the cutting edge of the knife by means of melted paraffin or beeswax. Or, alternatively, troughs may be constructed using electrical or mylar tape wrapped around the cutting edge and made leakproof by sealing the heal of the trough to the glass using paraffin, beeswax, or finger-nail polish. While these methods do provide very serviceable knives and excellent sections, an easier and quicker method is described. We found that glass knives with excellent trough-like qualities may be prepared in a quick, simple, and convenient manner. The following protocol describing the making of "qwick knives" was |
| Starting Page | 38 |
| Ending Page | 41 |
| Page Count | 4 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| DOI | 10.1017/s1551929500057655 |
| Volume Number | 14 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1551929500057655 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://doi.org/10.1017/s1551929500057655 |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
